General Manager - Manufacturing
Location: Arizona
Leadership is treated as the single most important quality a senior leader can bring, and that belief shapes how this organization supports its people. Executives stay accessible and collaborative rather than distant, and the team is energized, responsive, and eager for direction. New leaders are set up to succeed from day one with clear information and the resources they need. Accountability here is real, and so is the support behind it.
This is a rare chance to own a manufacturing operation outright, with full P&L accountability and the authority to build it the right way. You will walk the floor, see what others have missed, and turn existing capacity into meaningful gains in throughput and profitability. With strong leadership support and room to shape processes, KPIs, and future systems, you will have the freedom to lead without layers of bureaucracy. The foundation you build here will define the business, and your career, for years to come.
Role Responsibilities
- Lead all manufacturing operations across multiple sites with full P&L accountability, including resource prioritization and cost management.
- Assess production processes to identify inefficiencies, then rebalance labor, automation, scheduling, and work staging to increase throughput using existing capacity.
- Build clear visibility into fixed, labor, and material costs to strengthen pricing and estimating accuracy.
- Oversee raw material sourcing and purchasing to ensure reliable supply and cost discipline.
- Establish operational KPIs, consistent performance data, and KPI-driven stand-up meetings that create accountability and support continuous improvement.
- Standardize procedures, safety practices, and quality practices across sites.
- Own safety and quality performance, including OSHA compliance, and standardize HR and EHS practices.
- Coach, develop, and provide clear direction to a capable production team, introducing structure and more mature ways of working.
- Elevate key customer relationships beyond buyers and project managers to improve demand visibility and become part of customers' forecasting and planning.
- Maintain and strengthen cybersecurity, export compliance, physical security, and document-handling requirements for defense and aerospace work.
- Help shape future systems and technology investments, including ERP.
- Report to the VP of Operations and collaborate with the executive team on strategic priorities.
Qualifications
- 10+ years of manufacturing operations experience, including several years in a senior leadership role (such as Director of Operations, Plant Manager, or General Manager) with full ownership of a facility rather than floor supervision alone.
- Demonstrated full P&L management experience, with strong command of fixed, labor, and material cost structures as well as disciplined pricing and estimating.
- Track record of evaluating production processes, pinpointing inefficiencies, and improving throughput through changes to staffing, automation, scheduling, and work staging.
- Hands-on ability to personally lead quality, safety (including OSHA compliance), purchasing, and raw material sourcing without dedicated staff in each area.
- Proven people leader who gives direction, coaches and develops production teams, and implements KPIs, accountability, and structured ways of working.
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, or a related field is a plus.
- Defense or aerospace manufacturing experience, including implementation of cybersecurity, export control (ITAR), physical security, and document-handling requirements.
- Customer-facing or business development experience, with the ability to build relationships at senior levels of customer organizations. Operations remains the primary focus of this role.
- Career progression from hands-on production roles into senior operations leadership, with firsthand understanding of how work gets done on the floor.
- Experience with ERP selection, implementation, or vendor management.
Key Competencies
- Builder mindset, motivated to own an operation and build it right
- Disciplined in the fundamentals before taking on complexity
- Coach and developer of people
- KPI-driven and data-oriented
- Change leader who brings structure and consistency to a team ready to grow